Christmas in Phoenix
Arriving in Phoenix from Iowa was wonderful! We ditched our coats and headed outside to enjoy the sunshine and green grass.

It was too cold to swim in Andrew and Briggs' pool, but not too cold to...

...run the remote control boat!

The next day, we hit the Phoenix zoo to see the animals.

Natalie enjoyed pushing the stroller more than riding in it.

Briggs, Grandpa, and Madison by the stingrays. Madison didn't care to touch them.

Briggs and Madison made some delicious sugar cookies to leave for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Leaving Santa's snack by the fireplace before bed.

And, low and behold, the ol' jolly fellow delivered! Here are the girls checking out what Santa left.

Opening presents from Andrew and Briggs.

Yay!

Yay!

A little football in the afternoon.

And a little rest, too.

These are expert loungers!

The next day, we went to the Children's Museum. It was awesome!

The kids loved all the activities. So did the adults.

Catching the scarves.

Shopping at the grocery store.

Cooking at the pizzaria.

Thank you Andrew and Briggs for a wonderful time!

Family Holiday Party

Madison's preschool teachers organized a great family holiday party today at school. We got to decorate little gingerbread houses.

Natalie sampled all the candies to make sure they were good enought to top our house.

This is taken a split second before half a jar of green sugar was gently dumped all over Madison's house, tree, the plate and table.

I'd say this is about mid-completion. Madison could have sat there all day, gingerly putting candies on her house. The other kids were done in about 5 minutes.

Natalie, Madison, and her BFF Taylor on the way back to the classroom. I didn't get a picture of it, but Madison invited Natalie to sit with her on the letter mat in the classroom. I thought it was so sweet.

The whole class. Eleven boys and 5 girls. Those teachers earn their Christmas Break!!

Up on the Housetop...Madison is doing the "Santa's Belly" part of the song.

A little clapping....

...and a little whooping and hollering at the end.

Madison, Taylor, and Cody (Taylor's little brother) enjoying their snacks. Natalie, not pictured, was gobbling down an entire plate of Chex Mix. Needless to say, lunch time was nothing spectacular with we got home.

Santa's Little Helpers

Madison's class performed a few songs for the families at the Christmas Party. I tried to video the whole class because some Mom's forgot their cameras. Next year, Scott is in charge of the video making. I feel like I never see it live when I have to run the camera.

Jingle Bells

My Sweet Girls
Watching a little TV in their fuzzy winter jammies

All smiles before we left the house to see Santa.

'Tis The Season

Baby, It's Cold Outside...
Cabin fever hasn't set in quite yet as the girls are still finding ways to entertain themselves in the house.

Yesterday, we decorated sugar cookies. Here's the first pose.

Me: Uh oh! Madison's eyes were closed. Let's try again.

Here's the next picture! Natalie must have misunderstood. :)

THANK YOU to Dad and Scott for the garage heater and installation! I cranked it up and sent the girls out to play. They enjoyed playing without gloves, hats, and snow pants.